The Long and Short of It

Mango sweater
Zara shorts (similar)
Zara sandals (similar)
Vintage belt (via Mom) (similar)
Louis Vuitton handbag
RayBan sunglasses
& Other Stories necklace
Keltie Leanne Designs ring (c/o) (similar)
Mango earrings
Location: The Manitoba Legislature – Winnipeg, Manitoba

My fraught relationship with shorts in well-documented. When I searched the words “denim shorts” while preparing this post, no less than eighteen old articles popped up. This one, I think, most poignantly details the internal battle I’ve waged against myself since I was thirteen. I want to wear shorts. Short ones. Stylish ones. But I also want to feel carefree and comfortable. To complicate matters, I don’t love my legs. So in the decades since my hunt for the perfect pair denim shorts began, I have never yet come across a pair of shorts that allowed both. All the truly stylish pairs are entirely too short, it seems, leaving me feeling half-naked and constantly tugging on my hems. And the rest are too long to feel stylish.

The long and short of it is, I know exactly the kind of shorts I want. The problem is, they don’t exist.

Or at least, they didn’t, until this season.

Every year, my definition of the perfect pair of denim shorts changes slightly, although my desire for a specific length never changes. Short shorts are not for me, despite years of attempting to convince myself otherwise. This year, the perfect pair was black, not blue. I began by looking at classic brands like Levi’s, but the selection of shorts that met my criteria was basically non-existent. Nothing new there, so I’m not sure why I was surprised. Unwilling to spend a fortune on a garment I would most likely not love and be forced to return, I narrowed my search to more budget-friendly brands. But Mango, my go-to, was no help. You might as well try Zara, too, I told myself, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

Imagine my shock, then, when Zara yielded exactly what my heart desired: a pair of mid-length black denim shorts in a cut wide enough to leave room for my thighs to breathe. Not a big ask, I don’t think, but the garment industry has been telling me otherwise since 1998. If you struggle with finding the right shorts like I do, consider this post a PSA: there is a good chance you might finally, after many years of heartache, find joy in the Zara Mom Fit Denim Short. It happened to me.